07 — U-Turn

I arrived at the Healer’s Guild several minutes later, where I lost myself in thought for a moment before entering.

“It’s strange. I’m a healer, but the Adventurer’s Guild feels more like home to me than this place.”

I opened the door but no cheery “Welcome!” greeted me. For a second, I wondered if anybody was in before seeing a receptionist at the counter. She was looking down at the floor and hadn’t noticed me yet.

“Excuse me, I’d like to renew my rank. Wait, is that you, Kururu? It’s been a long time.”

“Oh? Luciel?” She looked away. “What are you here for?”

Had I offended her somehow? She seemed to be in awfully low spirits.

“Um, yes, it’s me. Have I done something to upset you?”

“Not directly, no, but don’t think I don’t know about your dragging Monica over to the Adventurer’s Guild.”

“You’ve misunderstood. I never pushed her to stay. She was no longer in danger and decided to work there on her own. At least, that’s what I heard,” I explained earnestly.

She sighed. “Yeah, I know. It’s just been rough since she left. Not a single person’s even come in for an interview, and we’ve been looking to hire this whole time.”

She did look a little haggard, but were they really that busy? The place was as barren as a ghost town. And Monica often said the Adventurer’s Guild had more work for her to do. I suppose just waiting around could be pretty tiring, though.

“How about a healing? On the house.”

She giggled. “I’m good, thanks. How’ve you been? Oh, wow, I just realized, have you gotten kind of buff or am I imagining things?”

“Well, I’ve been working my butt off training this past year,” I joked, flexing my biceps.

“What kind of clinic does that? Where are you working now?”

“I know I kept it vague when I last saw you, but the truth is, I was never actually working at a clinic.”

“What?! You mean you never got a job? Did we not set you up with a place?” she replied, completely bewildered.

The confusion was understandable. I had asked about finding a place to work back then, but never followed up on it.

“I heard about how you mediate between clinics, but after thinking about my future a little, I decided to set myself up at the Adventurer’s Guild for a while.”

“You became an adventurer? So, what was the point of being a healer?” she asked, this time looking utterly exasperated.

She certainly had quite the colorful array of facial expressions. What was she doing working as a receptionist in a place like this?

I laughed. “I mean, all I could use was the basic Heal spell. I assumed the best way to increase my Holy Magic would be hands-on experience.”

“You’re one crazy kid, Luciel. And did it work out?”

“I’m not sure what’s considered normal for skill levels, so I couldn’t say. I got food and a bed while I was there, though, so I think it worked out better than if I’d gone to a clinic.”

“Look at you. The Adventurer’s Guild? How’s Monica doing?”

“Well. She seems to enjoy what she does.”

“I’m glad. What specifically made you choose the Adventurer’s Guild, anyway?”

“You see, my motto is, ‘Don’t die.’ That’s why I spent the last year polishing up my self-defense skills as much as possible. When I first got there, I was sure that a single smack from an adventurer would be enough to knock me into the afterlife.”

“You’re so weird, you know that? Oh well, that’s just who you are, I suppose. Anyway, I’ll check your Holy Magic skill when I renew you and figure out what rank it’ll put you at.”

“Please do.”

“Once your rank is settled and you’ve paid your dues, we’ll talk grimoires. Lemme see your card.”

“Right.” I handed it over.

“All right, let’s see how hard you worked. And whether your choice to go to the Adventurer’s Guild over a clinic was a smart one——” She couldn’t even finish her sentence before complete astonishment came over her face. “Wh... Hold on! Luciel, what in the world is this?!”

“Er, is there a problem?”

“Oh, yeah! A big one! What in the Goddess’s name was this training you were doing?! What have you been doing to yourself? Explain!” she snapped.

Holy crap, she’s practically fuming! “Kururu, you’re kind of scaring me. I’ll talk, so please calm down. You’re much prettier when you aren’t livid.”

She cleared her throat to regain her composure, then shot me an icy stare, urging me to continue.

“Um, well, after I learned Heal...” I proceeded to recount the last year for her.

When I finished, Kururu looked at me and, in the most deadpan tone imaginable, said, “Luciel, are you some kind of deviant?”

“Ow, okay, that’s a little harsh. I’m just trying to keep myself from dying, that’s all. And I wanted to improve my Holy Magic as much as I could. Don’t they say that it’s best to start young? That’s why I went to the Adventurer’s Guild, to find a place where I could do both. I’m confident I made the right choice.”

“But there are plenty of clinics to choose from. You might’ve started out doing grunt work, but you still could have made connections. You didn’t need to push yourself to learn how to fight, either.”

Maybe it was a strange approach, but it sure produced results, and it wasn’t like I was hurting anybody.

“I did make lots of connections, even if they’re all adventurers. This is just my own philosophy, but I think the most important thing for improving as a healer is to cast the spells as many times as you can. If you want to be good at something, you need to put in serious time and effort.”

Kururu’s face was stiff and awkward. She probably knew that even if I was right, she couldn’t officially endorse my actions, given the current situation with the guild’s clinics.

“I also think there’s a difference between healing for money and asking for compensation once the patient is satisfied with your services,” I continued. The incident that had befallen Monica was the fault of the guild’s lack of leadership and direction. That difference seemed to be lost on its healers. “I wanted to learn to defend myself this past year. Money can’t buy that.”

“You’re...you’re right. I apologize.”

Immediately, I realized I’d said too much. None of the guild’s shortcomings were her fault. Something about the Healer’s Guild just...didn’t sit right with me.

“No, I’m sorry for acting pretentious. Just for the record, I’m not a masochist, okay? I’m only trying to survive.” Once my position, not to mention innocence, were well and truly clear, I smiled.

She finally smiled back. “You’re a man of ideals, Luciel. I’m surprised to see that someone Miss Lumina dragged in actually has his head on straight.”

Um, is that supposed to mean they’re all nutjobs? She could diss Lumina all she wanted, but why did it have to be at my expense? It sounded like everyone had thought I was a complete weirdo for an entire year. And now I was kind of depressed.

“You know, I never actually saw her again after that,” I mused.

“She left town quite a while ago. Returned to Church Headquarters in the Holy City.”

“The Holy City? Is she one of those upper-class elite types?”

How lucky did you have to be to not only have beauty but also be living it up as one of society’s finest? In this world, where hard work and effort were everything, maybe the day would come when we would stand together as equals.

“Something like that. So if you ever want to see her again, you’d better keep working hard. Anyway, you can make it up to rank C. How far you wanna go?” she asked with a smirk, as if she were somehow testing me. I wasn’t about to fall for it, though.

“Before that, can I buy any grimoires without ranking up?”

“Sure, we can sell you some,” she replied, looking bored by my response, “but that comes with a big asterisk. Spellbooks above your current rank will cost ten times the normal price, so I wouldn’t recommend it. The expensive ones can get upwards of ten times your yearly dues.”

Talk about extortionate pricing. I thought it was the healers themselves who were supposed to be the greedy ones. Narrowing the options down by necessity would be smart.

“Could you explain the different kinds you can buy at each rank, then?”

“F-rank lets you buy grimoires for poison, paralysis, and sleep recovery spells. E-rank has mid-level healing. D-rank, barrier magic, and C-rank gets you area healing.”

“Okay, and how much would the E, D, and C grimoires cost all together?”

“One sec... One gold and twenty-four silver if you get them now, but only ninety silver if you buy them at rank C.”

I didn’t have anywhere close to enough. Taking my dues into account, it’d take me three months to afford all that, assuming I kicked myself into high gear. No, probably even longer. Really, I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, seeing as I only had three silver to my name. I needed her to introduce me to the best-paying clinic in town.

Just as I opened my mouth to speak, a weighty thud along with the characteristic clinking of metal came from the counter between me and Kururu.

I looked down to find a leather bag, held by none other than Coach Brod. “Your wages. Two gold and thirty-one silver,” he rasped in that husky voice of his.

“Uh, what are you doing here, Coach?”

“Nearly forgot to give ya your pay,” he grinned, then looked at Kururu. “Now, Miss, I’ll pay one gold for you to dispatch Luciel here to the Adventurer’s Guild. We’ll cover his wages.”

“Um, and who might you be?” The receptionist looked absolutely bewildered.

“Sorry, my bad. Name’s Brod, of the Adventurer’s Guild. Ask the guildmaster who I am. Should clear things up.”

Wow, that was some pompous attitude on display. Brod was as ruthless as ever.

So, this is the system I heard about. How the Healer’s Guild used to send people to the Adventurer’s Guild.

Kururu looked at me nervously.

“Right, this is Brod, Kururu. He’s my combat instructor,” I clarified. “I promise he’s not here to cause trouble or threaten anyone. And when you say ‘dispatch,’ Coach, do you mean what I think you mean?”

“I’m officially hiring you as the guild’s resident healer, Luciel,” he stated.

He was probably completely confident that I couldn’t possibly turn the offer down. And as much as I would’ve liked to mess with him a little, this really wasn’t the place. Especially since Kururu seemed a bit freaked out.

“Well, I still haven’t managed to hit you yet, so if you’re willing to pay me, I’d be insane to refuse.”

“Are you sure? You’re certain that’s okay?” Kururu whispered anxiously. Her concern warmed my heart.

“It’s okay. Like I said, he’s my instructor, I swear. I’d love to be stationed at the Adventurer’s Guild.”

“If you say so. Then I’ll start processing everything. Keep up the good work and make some money for yourself this year, got it?”

“I will. Thank you for the advice.”

After that, we finished up the official paperwork for my new post. I bought all the grimoires available to me, covered my year’s dues, and then it was back to the familiarity of the Adventurer’s Guild.

I spoke up as soon as we stepped outside. “You scared the heck out of me, Coach. I can’t believe you just showed up like that.” The possibility of him doing so had never even crossed my mind.

“Training with you got my own Martial Arts skill up to eight. Credit where credit’s due.” He shot me a smug look. “I’m gonna teach you everything I know, including the jobs that keep the guild running. Oh, and no slacking on your Holy Magic, either.”

Putting aside wherever that triumphant attitude was coming from, I was amazed to hear that his skill was level eight. That wasn’t even human. No wonder he always treated me like a kid.

I was still going to land a hit on him, though. Someday.

Not an hour after I’d left, we arrived back home. I steeled myself for the typhoon of teasing that surely awaited me, then entered.

Later, I returned to my room, where the placard that had once read “Resting Room” now had a different label: “Healer’s Room — Luciel.”

“Yup. This one’s mine, all right.”

Somehow, a room that had been filled with my own personal belongings for months now felt more personal than ever. It otherwise hadn’t changed a bit since this morning.

“Guess I was only gone for an hour. I wonder how long Coach was planning that?” The man was an enigma.

I put my books on the desk, then glanced around the room. “Looks like we’re in it for another year, old pal.”

After I finished straightening things up a bit, I had afternoon training, which was followed by reading my newly-bought grimoires. There were tons of important points listed, as well as various tips and tricks. For example, it said that the Null Cast skill was more cast-efficient than Short Cast or Magic Boost, which increased magical efficacy by consciously utilizing greater amounts of your energy. I’d never heard much of the advice before and it seemed quite handy.

What they failed to mention, however, were the demerits or effects of anything they described. To build on the previous example, trying to use Null Cast without the Free Casting skill would increase MP consumption eightfold. Stuff like that just wasn’t explained. It was actually less efficient for me to practice Free Casting because my own magic pool was still rather low. Maybe I could give it some extra study time down the line.

I also found myself craving the Magic Cost Reduction skill more than anything else, despite all the other spells I’d just gotten my hands on. It most likely wouldn’t trigger without first increasing Magic Handling and Magic Control, but I just wanted to have fewer limits on my spellcasting.

Holding back these impatient urges, I focused my mind and set a goal. Within this next year, I would reach the starting line and become at least strong enough to be able to set out on my own.